New Delhi: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will embark on a four-day visit to India from October 1 at the invitation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. During his visit, UN Secretary-General will attend a series of events on renewable energy and sanitation, announced on Friday. According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, Guterres and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the joint inaugural ceremony of the first General Assembly of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Second Global Re-Invest Conference and the Second Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association of States (IORA) member countries on October 2.
The UN chief will also be participating in the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention the same day which will mark the launch of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations as well as the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The inauguration of the ISA General Assembly will be followed by the ministerial level assembly the following day.
Launched by Prime Minister Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015, ISA was conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach. It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and till date, 68 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement.
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Being organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the Second Global Re-Invest Conference will build upon the success of Re-Invest 2015 and provide an international forum to established players as well as new segments of investors and entrepreneurs to engage, ideate and innovate and explore strategies for development and deployment of renewable energy sources.
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The Second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting is expected to provide a platform for discussion on energy needs within the region, identification of hurdles in cooperation and coordination among concerned agencies and potential avenues of collaboration. The IORA is an international organisation consisting of 21 coastal states, including India, bordering the Indian Ocean.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
